• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.94-98
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• 2019

The riblet structure like shark skin has been widely studied owing to its drag reduction and anti-fouling properties. In this study we simulated the wettability of an oil droplet on a riblet surface. We developed a numerical analysis method using the Wenzel equation and Cassie-Baxter equation that can estimate the contact angle with a penetrated depth of the droplet on rough surfaces. Riblet surfaces with nine scales composed of five hemi-elliptical ribs are generated numerically. The variation of contact angles with fractional depth of penetration for the generated riblet surfaces with and without coatings is demonstrated in the condition of solid-air-oil and solid-water-oil interfaces. The contact angle for the uncoated surface decreases with increasing fractional depth of penetration more drastically than that for the coated surface. For the effect of surface roughness on the contact angle of the droplet, the oleophilic surface gives lower contact angle when the surface is rougher, whereas the oleoophobic surface gives higher contact angle with higher roughness To verify the analysis results, the wetting angle was measured in the solid-air-oil interface and solid-water-oil interface for the shark-skin template and shark-skin replica. The effects of teflon coating were also evaluated. It is shown that the simulation results cover the experimental ones.